The torch lighting ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be held without spectators because of the coronavirus.
Greece’s Olympic Committee have barred people from attending the dress rehearsal in Olympia on Wednesday.
They’ll also be excluded from the widely broadcast ceremony taking place at the ancient site on Thursday.
It will be the first time since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics that spectators won’t be at the event.
The Greek Olympic Committee said in a statement: "The lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame will be done without the presence of spectators and only 100 invited and accredited guests.
"The dress rehearsal on March 11 will be closed to spectators and media."
The Olympic torch will be lit on Thursday before a seven-day relay ends with a handover ceremony in Greece on 19 March.
On Sunday, the number of coronavirus cases in the country had risen from seven to 73.
That’s led to a two-week ban on sporting events with spectators.
The Mayor of Olympia has proposed postponing the traditional ceremony until May.
In a letter to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, mayor Giorgos Georgiopoulos said: "The danger of staging the torch lighting with only a handful of spectators, limited number of officials and delegations, and under a cloud of fear and concern will damage the greatness and prestige of this event.
"With a sense of responsibility, the municipal authority, all parties of the city council of Ancient Olympia, in order to secure the global radiance of the event asks the IOC which has the exclusive responsibility of organising it to consider the possibility of moving the torch lighting ceremony to May of this year."
There remain concerns as to whether the Olympics will go ahead later this year in Tokyo, with Japan one of the worst hit countries from the virus.
